Standing Guard

By Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President

Ending Holder’s Corrupt, Lawless Rule

Of all of the threats to American liberty posed by the Obama administration, the most dangerous is the corruption of the U.S. Department of Justice where high-level misfeasance, malfeasance and nonfeasance have become the norm.

The U.S. Department of Justice is supposed to be a neutral guardian of the rule of law and protector of our national order. It is supposed to uphold the United States Constitution. Instead, under President Barack Obama’s Attorney General, Eric Holder, it has become the national enforcer of Chicago-style thuggery on the national scene.

Just look at a few examples:

Under “Operation Fast and Furious,” Holder’s Justice Department has abetted federal felony gun-law violations and international gun-running—resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Mexican nationals and in the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in Arizona.

The illegal gun smuggling operation, hatched in the Justice Department, resulted in hundreds of firearms being intentionally moved into Mexican criminal commerce. The purpose? To give truth to the big lie that U.S. gun shops were the main source of firearms obtained by the multi-billion dollar Mexican drug cartels.

From the beginning of congressional inquiries into “Fast and Furious,” Justice has lied, obfuscated and refused to submit to the constitutional oversight responsibilities of the Congress.

As a result of that refusal to respect and cooperate with California U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa’s and Iowa U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley’s inquiries into “Operation Fast and Furious,” for the first time in the nation’s history a cabinet officer—Attorney General Eric Holder—has been held in criminal contempt of Congress following an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 255-67 in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Where the Justice Department is required to act, Holder’s minions instead declined to prosecute the criminal contempt charges. Now, Congress is pursuing civil enforcement through the courts.

At the same time, the Justice Department is defending President Obama’s off-the-wall blanket declaration that “Fast and Furious” is protected by “executive privilege,” thus giving the coverup an even broader taint which infects the upper reaches of the White House.

On top of that came video threats by the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives against courageous whistleblowers who exposed the “gun walking” scheme in the first place: “… if you make poor choices, that if you don’t abide by the rules, that if you don’t respect the chain of command, if you don’t find the appropriate way to raise your concerns to your leadership, there will be consequences. …”

But no clearer example exists of the deep corruption at Justice than its efforts to vacate state laws preventing election fraud.

Congress long ago enacted laws to protect the cherished right to vote, but today the Obama/Holder Justice Department is perverting those laws to protect voter fraud that could well maintain Barack Obama’s hold on national power.

The Obama/Holder Justice Department is running a vote fraud protection racket by jamming the courts with lawsuits opposing state mandates that provide a simple solution to election cheating—voter I.D. As political scientist Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia observed in regard to voter fraud: “The fact that so many people thwart legitimate and prudent efforts to improve ballot integrity has become a scandal in its own right.”

Yet being asked to prove who you are before voting is attacked as “intimidation,” and “suppression,” ignoring the fact that a photo I.D. is required to attend Attorney General Holder’s speeches or to visit the Justice Department, to board an airplane, cash a check, see a doctor or any manner of other everyday activity in America.

Now, connect the dots to another key assault on our freedom. Aligned with the Department of Homeland Security, Obama’s top federal law enforcement leaders are refusing to enforce immigration laws to stem the tide of hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens, potential illegal voters. Justice is even challenging routine purges of dead citizens from voter rolls in Florida and elsewhere.

In the upcoming elections, this malfeasance can come to an abrupt halt and we hold the keys. As a pundit once wrote: “If it’s not close, they can’t cheat.” With your commitment to be “All In” with NRA in the coming campaign, you can be sure they are “All Out”—especially when it comes to this ruthless, lawless Department of Justice.

Make no mistake about DOJ’s power. On July 12, 2012, Vice President Joe Biden, in a highly partisan speech, issued a dire warning about changes a principled successor to Holder would make: “Imagine … who is likely to be picked as Attorney General or the head of the civil rights division or those other incredibly important positions in Justice. This to me is one of the most critical issues of this election. …” He’s right, and I for one am counting on new leadership at the helm and a housecleaning at the Justice Department that bring an end to the corrupt, lawless rule of the likes of Holder.

In the weeks before the November 6, 2012 elections, NRA members must be “All In,” mobilizing every voter we know—friends, family, co-workers—to vote and to get others to the polls. Make sure that the warnings in Vice President Biden’s fevered imagination become our national reality, returning truth and justice to an agency that is central to safeguarding our republic.